HOW A SPY WAS CAUGHT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2086, 11 January 1908, Page 6 (Supplement)

HOW A SPY WAS CAUGHT.

The Paris correspondent of _ tho “Standard” states tiiat the naval lieutenant who has been arrested near Toulon on a charge of espionage belongs to an honorable and well-known Lyons family. The story of arrest is one of those pages of legal and criminal history that makes ono doubt the truth of tho oft-repeated saying that life is becoming prosaic. The tale opens with a letter addressed from Toulon about a month ago to M. Thomson, Minister of Marino. The letter was very much like hundreds of others which the Minister receives weekly, addressed to him by -anonymous correspondents who offer to sell plans and information and threaten to retaliate by dealing with another person if the stipulated sunt is not paid. On occasion, when it has been thought absolutely advisable to do so, money has been paid; but few letters bear the test of the searching mination to which they are submitted either by marine or by detective police. However, in this case details wore given about certain plans which showed that tho author was really in possession of valuable secrets. lie demanded that £6,000 should bo placed in a corner in the railway station lavatory at Toulon by a certain date. On this condition he would consent to hand over the naval signal code and other documents, including plans of tho defences of the port. RENDEZVOUS IN A GORGE. The naval commander at Toulon was advised at once that the criminal should be iou'nd, and [two of the smartest Paris detectives were cliaiged to co-operatc in this work. >' ’* •! some difficulty they got into correspondence with the writer of the lotter, and when the correspondence had proceeded sufficiently to allow the. detectives to investigate the situation, a rendezvous was arranged for an examination of some of the documents.. The meeting was to take place in the famous Gorges d’Oliioules, near Toulon. In order to arouse no suspicions,. a professional boxer was sent to represent the detectives. At a given time, a motor car drove up, anq there stepped from it a young man, v.duo immediately covered the boxot with a service revolver. But. uiitorttiualelv, it was not .enough to have a revolver. The stranger hold the money, and was able to call tlio tune. His retort came quickly. Throwing uj) his arms, he said: “I Wish to speak with you. But I cannot say a word, or i'ive you a penny in these circumstances. ‘ Throw the revolver away.” ST,EDGE HAMMER DESCENDS. The audacious speech and calm face of the speaker were enough to overcome the motorist’s irresolution. The revolver was thrown twenty yards away. But the boxer did not allow the man to straighten himself from the throw before he planted two sledgo hammer blows in his face. Tho man rolled unconscious to tho other side of the road, and the detectives, who had beeen in ambush 300 yards away,

the prisoner was Lieutenant Ulmo, the man whom they suspected, the detectives drove him off to Toulon immediately in his own motor car, and, i having handed him over to the pc.- I lice, went to search his bouse. The villa which he occupied was searched from roof to cellar, and several important documents wore found. Those were put into a sale, together with the police reports on tho case, and were despatched to Paris in the same train as that which took the prisoner. The Ministry of Marine has taken charge of the prisoner now, and as it is pretty well established that Ulmo hull neither stolen any documents from branches of the service other than his own, nor sold any plans to any foreign Power, his trial will probably not lie long delayed. Ulmo, in his confession, says that Hie sjoted in order to get money to moot debts incurred in a year of excessive luxury and dissipation.